Once again, it’s that time of the year when Whispering Hope* spreads the wonder of loving and giving to the less fortunate souls we come across from time to time. Plans are being made to ensure that the Christmas season will bring in a lot of cheer and happiness to these chosen ones.
We kickstart the program at St. Mark’s Matriculation School in Perambur, Chennai, on the 22nd December. We wish to felicitate the top rankers from Standards 1 to 10 with exciting gifts to encourage them in their studies and motivate the less enthusiastic kids to strive a little harder to gain momentum in the application of their learning skills. We would also like to appreciate the dedication and hard work put in by the teachers by giving them a little token of our appreciation. A special gesture will be made to the support staff who ensure that the environs of the school are kept clean and hygienic to safeguard the children.
Apart from this, goody bags are being prepared for children from the slums and the streets. There will definitely be something thrown in for the senior citizens too.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
A touch of 'Independence'
To celebrate the true spirit of being 'Independent', Whispering Hope organised a day out for the little children from the Anamal Orphanage, Chennai, on 16th August. This orphanage is run by Gunaseelan and his charming wife; they have about 36 children living under their roof. When I met Gunaseelan on New Year's Day to give him a food hamper, I was impressed with the way he brought up these children. On enquiring what he would like me to do for them, he asked me to organise a day's outing for them. In an unimitable Whispering Hope style, sponsors were found and we had the show on the road on the 16th of August, a day after India's Independence Day. Ruby & Kevin Joshua contributed towards the lunch - it was their Silver Wedding Anniversary on 16th July; an angel from Switzerland contributed towards the transport, the mouth watering snacks and the presents. And with the help of my three volunteers, Judy, Jessie and Fenny, we spent an eventful day out of Chennai. We visited the Infant Jesus Shrine at Manali New town and the little ones sought the blessings of the blessed Infant. From there, we moved onto the St. Jude's shrine at Kattur. Rev. Fr. Jacob, the parish priest very graciously allowed us to use the church premises for our picnic. It was heartening to see the little children running free, unshackled from their daily routine of school and home, participating whole heartedly in the games and enjoying the sumptious biryani and snacks. The smile widened when they found out that there were presents too! In the end, every child was given a gift and their happiness was ours too! A big thank you to the sponsors and the volunteers for making this an eventful day! Please see the photos of our day out in the attached album - Photo Bucket.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Whispering Hope keeps the Spirit of Giving alive
A big Thank You to Ms. Elise Rasmussen, from the UK, who so thoughtfully provided Whispering Hope with gifts for the many children we come across from time to time. The colourful strings with delightful Cross pendants made lovely gifts for the children especially on Good Friday. The toy eggs, with growing pets – chickens, crocodile, dinosaurs and snakes, proved to be an instant hit with the kids. Thank you, Elise, very much and we look forward to receiving more of these little gifts that only your charming self can find and give!
The Nagle Health Centre, Colachel, Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, celebrated the Silver Jubilee of their Rehabilitation Centre for Alcoholics in a grand manner. To help this very deserving and noble cause, a donation of Rs.3000/- was presented to them.
Whispering Hope helped Mrs. Thirupatiamma of Chennai, in purchasing a second hand sewing machine. The lady, who is a good tailor, can now earn a decent livelihood and contribute to the family income.
In the month of May, a month dedicated to Mother Mary, Whispering Hope provided a 14 seater van to Mrs. Margaret Paulraj and her whole family from Chennai, to visit the famous Velankanni Shrine at Nagapatinam, Tamilnadu. Special thanks go out to the donor from Switzerland, who wishes to remain anonymous, and Biju Damodaran from Muscat who sponsored the van. Some of the photos are displayed in the album.
When the schools reopened in June, Whispering Hope was as busy as a bee raising funds to help pay the fees for children who hail from poor families. Biju Damodaran from Muscat, Tripta and Manoj Barai from Bangalore, Senior Mr. Barai from Chennai, and a couple of our favourite sponsors who wish to remain anonymous, stepped in to help educate these children. Over the years, the children of Don Bosco School, Vepery, and St. Mark’s Matriculation School, Perambur, (both schools in Chennai) have benefitted from this effort of ours. Whispering Hope wishes to mention here that all school fees are paid directly to the Headmaster of the institutions and no cash is given to the parents or the children.
The Nagle Health Centre, Colachel, Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, celebrated the Silver Jubilee of their Rehabilitation Centre for Alcoholics in a grand manner. To help this very deserving and noble cause, a donation of Rs.3000/- was presented to them.
Whispering Hope helped Mrs. Thirupatiamma of Chennai, in purchasing a second hand sewing machine. The lady, who is a good tailor, can now earn a decent livelihood and contribute to the family income.
In the month of May, a month dedicated to Mother Mary, Whispering Hope provided a 14 seater van to Mrs. Margaret Paulraj and her whole family from Chennai, to visit the famous Velankanni Shrine at Nagapatinam, Tamilnadu. Special thanks go out to the donor from Switzerland, who wishes to remain anonymous, and Biju Damodaran from Muscat who sponsored the van. Some of the photos are displayed in the album.
When the schools reopened in June, Whispering Hope was as busy as a bee raising funds to help pay the fees for children who hail from poor families. Biju Damodaran from Muscat, Tripta and Manoj Barai from Bangalore, Senior Mr. Barai from Chennai, and a couple of our favourite sponsors who wish to remain anonymous, stepped in to help educate these children. Over the years, the children of Don Bosco School, Vepery, and St. Mark’s Matriculation School, Perambur, (both schools in Chennai) have benefitted from this effort of ours. Whispering Hope wishes to mention here that all school fees are paid directly to the Headmaster of the institutions and no cash is given to the parents or the children.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Thinking Time
As we go down Life's path, we come across an avalanche of sayings, some true and some not so true. Whispering Hope came across the following words and requests you to give it a little thought. Time is so precious, let's not waste it any more.
First I was dying to finish my high school and start college
And then I was dying to finish college and start working
Then I was dying to marry and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could go back to work.
But then I was dying to retire. And now Im dying..
And suddenly I realized I forgot to live.
Pls don’t let this happen to you. Appreciate your current situation and enjoy each day. - Old friend.
I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do. I had to hurry and get to work, for bills would soon be due. So I knelt and said a hurried prayer, and jumped up off my knees. My Christian duty was now done, my soul could rest at ease.....All day long I had no time, to spread a word of cheer, no time to speak of Christ to friends, they'd laugh at me I'd fear. No time, no time, too much to do, That was my constant cry, no time to give to souls in need, but at last the time, the time to die. I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with downcast eyes. For in his hands God held a book; It was the book of life. God looked into his book and said "Your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down... But never found the time"
First I was dying to finish my high school and start college
And then I was dying to finish college and start working
Then I was dying to marry and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could go back to work.
But then I was dying to retire. And now Im dying..
And suddenly I realized I forgot to live.
Pls don’t let this happen to you. Appreciate your current situation and enjoy each day. - Old friend.
I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do. I had to hurry and get to work, for bills would soon be due. So I knelt and said a hurried prayer, and jumped up off my knees. My Christian duty was now done, my soul could rest at ease.....All day long I had no time, to spread a word of cheer, no time to speak of Christ to friends, they'd laugh at me I'd fear. No time, no time, too much to do, That was my constant cry, no time to give to souls in need, but at last the time, the time to die. I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with downcast eyes. For in his hands God held a book; It was the book of life. God looked into his book and said "Your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down... But never found the time"
Behind the scenes in Fabulous February
After a fulfilling December, Whispering Hope took it easy in January and made plans for the months ahead.
Fab Feb saw a little girl in Goa with stars in her eyes when she was told that one of her dreams was to come true – little Raveena is to be presented with a bicycle and if all goes well it will be in her favourite colour PINK!
An Angel who wishes to remain anonymous presented Ms. Francis with a computer to enable her work from home and earn extra money. A start in the right direction!
Fab Feb saw a little girl in Goa with stars in her eyes when she was told that one of her dreams was to come true – little Raveena is to be presented with a bicycle and if all goes well it will be in her favourite colour PINK!
An Angel who wishes to remain anonymous presented Ms. Francis with a computer to enable her work from home and earn extra money. A start in the right direction!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
New Year Bounty
It was an ‘Open House’ on the 30th December 2007 when the distribution of the New Year hampers to the chosen families took place. A bounty of food stuff (rice, lentils, sugar, oil, semolina, wheat flour, instant noodles, tomato ketchup, jam, mango juice and biscuits) was packed in a colourful bucket and handed over to the families who were invited to my home. (You might be wondering… ‘…why the bucket?...’ You see, Chennai invariably has a water problem during the summer months and hence the idea of the bucket popped up to enable these people store this precious liquid!). It was a hectic afternoon with the families strolling in and out of my home between 11am to 2pm. New clothes were distributed to the ladies and children and after a satisfying meal, the families left with smiles on their faces. Photographs were taken and will be put up shortly – please excuse the delay. There was one unclaimed hamper and on New Year’s Day, 1 Jan 2008, this was handed over to an orphanage along with 5 kilos of sugar supplied by Anita and Kevin Mawdsley of Chennai.
Whispering Hope would like to thank Pamela Hendricks, her family and friends from Perth, Sharon Gomes and Rebecca Dickson from Melbourne, Alun Long from the UK, P R Balasubramaniam from Mumbai, Alethea Brett and V. Kumar from Bangalore for their spontaneous generosity that made the distribution of new clothes and hampers to the less fortunate possible. We also appreciate the untiring efforts of Lucia in helping with the purchase and sorting of the hampers.
Whispering Hope would like to thank Pamela Hendricks, her family and friends from Perth, Sharon Gomes and Rebecca Dickson from Melbourne, Alun Long from the UK, P R Balasubramaniam from Mumbai, Alethea Brett and V. Kumar from Bangalore for their spontaneous generosity that made the distribution of new clothes and hampers to the less fortunate possible. We also appreciate the untiring efforts of Lucia in helping with the purchase and sorting of the hampers.
Christmas Treat - 22 Dec 2007
As planned, the picnic on the beach for the children was held on the 22nd December 2007. The kiddos were so excited that they landed up at my place at 5.30pm instead of 7.30pm at the scheduled venue!! Each of these little mites were so thrilled at the prospect of going to the seashore that they put on their Sunday best and kept chattering and singing all the way to the beach. After a sumptuous snack of hot samosas and fruit cake, a few games were conducted by the volunteers, Shankar and Gladwin. It was then time for a quick dip in the Bay of Bengal(!), which turned out to be the ultimate in excitement for them!! A round of delectable chappatis and potato masala was followed by the grand finale - the distribution of goody bags, Tshirts and caps to each child. Amidst the happy chatter, fond goodbyes were said, and screams of ‘Merry Christmas’ filled the moonlit night at the Madras Marina.
Whispering Hope would like to thank the sponsors, Manoj and Tripta Barai from Bangalore, for their generosity in making this possible and brightening up the lives of the little ones. We also would like to thank Jude Jayasingh for the delicious cake, Volunteers Mary, Pauline, Lucia, Shankar and Gladwin for helping with the children and the distribution of the snacks.
Whispering Hope would like to thank the sponsors, Manoj and Tripta Barai from Bangalore, for their generosity in making this possible and brightening up the lives of the little ones. We also would like to thank Jude Jayasingh for the delicious cake, Volunteers Mary, Pauline, Lucia, Shankar and Gladwin for helping with the children and the distribution of the snacks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
